November 10, 2008

 

ASA weekly: USDA develops drought-resistant soybean

A team led by USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant geneticist Thomas Carter will soon release advanced soy breeding lines that carry slow-wilting traits. These lines perform well under drought conditions, and also show good yield potential when rainfall is plentiful. Private seed companies and public soy breeders can use the drought-tolerant lines as breeding stock to develop high-yielding varieties adapted to stressful US weather conditions, especially during summers.

 

Carter is with the ARS Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research Unit in Raleigh, N.C. "Team Drought" is a group of researchers at five universities, which Carter heads. They aim to develop drought-tolerant breeding lines across a range of maturity groups for adaptation to every soy-growing area of the country.

 

The slow-wilting lines yield 4 to 8 bushels more than conventional varieties under drought conditions - depending on the region and environment. For example, where normal soy would yield 30 bushels per acre under drought conditions, the slow-wilting types can surpass those yields by about 5 bushels per acre.

 

Under drought conditions, the typical American soy crop can drop to a fraction of its yield potential. Adding genetic diversity to the US soy industry will help protect the food supply from vulnerabilities.

 

For more than 25 years, Carter has been working on transferring slow-wilting characteristics from Asian landraces, which are foreign introductions, into US adapted varieties. As the team gets the slow-wilting trait into high-yielding lines, they share those new lines with industry breeders.

 

Soy-based products a threat to global dairy industry

 

Soy-based products will represent a serious competitive threat to milk as a protein substitute in the years to come unless the dairy industry can innovate to increase the value of its product. This was the warning issued last week by John Penno, managing director and chief executive officer of New Zealand's Synlait group.

 

Soy can be produced much more efficiently on scales that cannot even be comprehended and as soy products are being developed toresemble dairy products, there is a danger that it can become a substitute for most dairy products, said  Penno.

 

Penno believes the global dairy industry faces a challenge to keep up with value added soy products. There will be a tough competition against an easy and cheaper production, soy, said Penno.

 

IEA expects increase in use of biodiesel

 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that biofuels will comprise 12 percent of global liquid fuel supplies by 2030, rising to 26 percent by 2050, representing a 20-fold increase of the actual figure in 2007. Cicilia Tam, an energy analyst with the IEA, told delegates at the FO Licht World Ethanol conference that from 2025, the biofuels balance would increasingly shift from first-generation ethanol towards second-generation fuels and biofuels.

 

Tam explained that in the IEA projection, called 'Energy Technology Perspectives', aircraft, shipping and heavy lorries would increasingly use more advanced biofuels by 2030, and this would particularly benefit soy-based biodiesel. Both aircraft and shipping are expected to have a 30 percent biofuel share in terms of total fuel use in 2030, compared with zero at present. Several airlines are now conducting test flights with biofuel mixes.

 

In terms of land use, IEA has issued a conservative prediction that 160 million hectares of land will be used for energy crops by 2050, representing just 3 percent of the global agricultural area.

 

The IEA has also issued a short-term forecast for world biodiesel production, which is still expected to see strong growth, rising from 1.35 million barrels a day in 2008 to almost 2 million barrels a day in 2013.

 

India says it will not impose import duties on edible oils for the time being

 

India has decided not to impose any tax on the import of crude edible oils for the time being, despite claims by industry officials that lower international prices are affecting domestic producers.

 

Kamal Nath, the minister for commerce and industry, told reporters last week that the government would not re-introduce the duty on imports after a meeting with Farm Minister Sharad Pawar, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram and other policy makers. The decision came as a surprise to many industry officials and analysts as Pawar hinted late last month that he expected the taxation on imports to be reintroduced.